


Safe Place

by watermelonriddles



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, More tags will be added!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-22 15:35:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14311833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: One night, when they both can't sleep, Wanda and Bucky begin to talk. The two grow closer and find a safe place within each other.





	1. Late Night Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admittedly, I haven’t seen Civil War since the year it came out (2016) so I can’t remember if they actually mentioned a significant timeline, but this is set between Steve getting everyone out of the Raft and Bucky choosing to return to cryogenic sleep. And I’m going to treat it as if it’s been at least a few days between the two events.

When Wanda walked into the kitchen the last person she expected to see was Bucky. She had never really had the chance to speak to him properly. A few words here and there, but most of the time it was about their mission. She wasn’t even sure what she would say to him now that they were technically on downtime. She contemplated turning around and leaving before he noticed her, but it was too late.

“Wanda, hi.” Now that he had turned towards her, she noticed that his arm was missing.

Looking quickly at his face, she offered up a smile to which he returned. “I didn’t think anyone would be in here.”

“Sorry, couldn’t sleep.” He lifted up a glass of water. “Needed a drink.”

“Same here.”

Wanda made her way over to the fridge where she retrieved a bottle of water. She opened it up and took a drink before standing by the breakfast bar, across from where Bucky stood.

Since they got out of the Raft a couple of days ago, Wanda had pretty much stayed in her room. The bathroom was right across the hall from her room so it made avoiding people easy. She mostly saw Clint who had brought her food and something to drink. He would always talk to her. She mostly listened, nodded where appropriate, but she had mostly avoided everything. She knew Steve had poked his head in a few times, but he never said anything, just made sure she was there and then left again.

When it seemed like the silence might go on forever, Bucky spoke. “I haven’t seen you around much since you all got out of the Raft.”

“I haven’t been feeling myself,” she admitted.

“And now?”

Wanda shook her head. “I don’t know. When it seems like I might be okay, I begin to realise that I still don’t feel entirely whole.”

Bucky knew exactly how that felt and he contemplated telling her so but in the end, he simply settled for, “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” Wanda took another sip of her drink and found herself watching him closely. “What happened?”

He looked down at where his arm used to be. “It got damaged.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” he said, looking back at her. “I’m thinking of returning to cryogenic sleep so I won’t need it anyway.”

“Wait,” Wanda frowned. “Why? You did nothing wrong.”

“It’s not about whether I’m guilty or not,” Bucky said. “I can’t trust my own mind, which means things like this could continue to happen.”

“Bad things could still happen, regardless of your mind.”

“I know,” he agreed. “But at least if they do, I can say that what I know is real. No more doubting myself, no more missing time, no false memories. Nothing artificial. I can be sure.”

Wanda seemed to think about that for a moment. “Aren’t you scared?”

“Terrified,” he admitted. “Who knows when I’ll wake up, and if I do, will I be any better?”

Wanda wished she could answer that question for him, but she wasn’t sure if anyone could give him the answer that he clearly wanted.

“Do you want to sit for a bit?” she asked, motioning to the couch in the living room.

“Yeah, sure.”

They picked up the glasses and the bottles then headed over to the couch. They sat at opposite ends and placed their drinks on the coffee table. Wanda grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch. It reached out far enough to cover both of them.

“When I was three,” Wanda started, grabbing Bucky’s attention. “I snuck outside in the middle of the night. I sat, curled up, under the window by the back door. It was some kind of nightmare, I can’t remember exactly what, but I do remember my brother, Pietro, coming out. He told me he sensed something was wrong and he came to my room.”

“But you weren’t there,” Bucky said.

Wanda smiled. “He freaked out. Almost told our parents, but instead, he went looking for me. Found me almost straight away. He was so mad but it quickly faded. We used to hide out there from our parents so we wouldn’t have to stop playing or go to bed. I remember he held out his hand to help me up and then we went back inside. We slept in his room. Covers over our heads so the bad dreams couldn’t get us.”

“Sounds like you were really close.”

“He was my heart,” Wanda said, voice cracking slightly.

Bucky reached across the space between them and found her hand. Their fingers tangled together. It had been a long time since Wanda spoke to anyone about Pietro, but from the soft look on Bucky’s face, her idea to distract him seemed to have worked.

“You know, growing up, Steve was constantly getting into fights that he had no chance in hell of winning.”

“Was this before…?”

“The serum? Yeah.” They both smiled. “Little punk was always getting into it. Luckily for him, I was usually close by but he never stopped. Even when he knew I couldn’t possibly be there to save his ass.”

Wanda laughed a little. “Sounds like Steve.”

“Oh yeah, he’s always been stubborn,” Bucky said, and then after a moment, “I”m sorry about your brother.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that… _stuff_ alone.”

Bucky squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. “I’m not alone anymore.”

Wanda nodded in agreement. It’s all she could do. He was right, and she felt the same. She never thought she would feel even remotely whole again after Pietro and although a part of her would always be missing, she found love again in the people around her. Even after being shocked over and over again at the Raft, she felt better knowing that she was surrounded by people who made her feel safe and a little less alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably going to have another chapter, perhaps two.


	2. The Last Night

A few days passed by and every night Wanda and Bucky would talk. They would both try to go to sleep and eventually wind up back in the kitchen or on the couch. Steve, Scott, Sam were always fast asleep by that time. The two of them would talk and talk until eventually, they fell asleep. Nobody ever mentioned the fact. Instead, they would gently wake the two of them so that they could change or get some more sleep in their bedrooms.

Each night they spoke at length about anything and everything so long as it didn’t involve Bucky being put back into cryogenic sleep or the collar that had been around Wanda’s neck and how it made her feel. They don’t talk about those bad moments. They talk about anything else. It’s the night before he’s due to be put under when they finally talk about it.

“Do you have any doubts?” Wanda asked.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t, but I thought about it a lot,” he said, looking down at the contents of his glass. “Perhaps if I get some help, talk to someone, things might be okay, but I don’t know the depths of what they did to me.”

“What if it’s deeper.”

“Exactly, I can’t be sure I’m fully in control, or that I will always be in control.”

Wanda noticed the way his hand tightened around the glass. Wanting to distract him, she took a deep breath and then said, “they shocked me.”

“What?” Bucky frowned as he looked towards at her.

“In the Raft,” she explained as she motioned to her neck. “They put a collar around my neck and they kept shocking me. All I could do was scream but they wouldn’t stop. Eventually, I just went still. I didn’t scream, I didn’t move, I’m surprised I even blinked. They stopped after that.”

Bucky reached out for her hand. She took a hold of it and he tugged on her hand pulling her towards him. She moved to settle in the space between him and the back of the couch. She adjusted the blankets over them and sat back. Bucky put his arm around her.

“Wake me up before you go?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course.”

* * *

 

When Bucky woke up the next morning Wanda was already up. She had been moving about the kitchen cooking breakfast. There was a lot of it but it seemed like the rest of the house were asleep. He had made his way over to the breakfast bar and took a seat on one of the stools. When she was done she explained that he should eat something before he goes and handed him a plate of food.

The two of them spoke at length while they were alone. They focused on good things, happy times, in an attempt to keep Bucky calm but it was clear that it wasn’t necessary. Wanda knew straight away that he was one hundred percent sure about his decision. Still, they didn’t dwell on the bad things.

Eventually, once the others were awake and fed, Steve left with Bucky. The entire time they were gone Wanda moved between the kitchen and the living room. She didn’t do much. Simply waited until they heard more.

She was in the kitchen when Clint stuck his head around the corner. “Wanda, Steve’s here.”

As she entered the living room she saw Steve standing by the front door. He stepped further into the room and he reached out for her. She stepped into his embrace and hugged him tightly. As they pulled apart she stayed by his side. He wrapped his arm around her.

“Bucky is safe,” Steve informed them all. “He’s being protected and getting help to make sure that no one will take control again.”

“Where?” Clint asked.

“I can’t tell you that,” Steve said. “I can’t tell you where or who. It’s not that I don’t trust you all, it’s just a precaution. Not just for Bucky but for those helping him.”

“We understand that,” Sam said as he sat down on the couch.

“Might be a bad time,” Scott said from his spot by the window. “But… Are we all going to stay in hiding?”

Steve hugged Wanda tightly. “Not forever, no. We’ve just got to be a little patient.”

The team all found somewhere to sit. Clint and Scott grabbed some drinks and snacks from the kitchen and passed them around. Sam, Wanda, and Steve took residence on the couch. Clint sat on the floor on the other side of the coffee table, and Scott took the armchair. They spoke for a long time. Joking and laughing. It helped distract Wanda a little but she couldn’t help but think about the amount of time that might pass.


End file.
